High Achieving Leaders Have A Balanced View

High achieving leaders are always scanning their environment. They step back to look at the big picture, and they dive into the details. They look at the past to learn from their experiences while planning for the future.

High-achieving leaders understand the value of seeing both the big picture and the details. Too many leaders work from a 10,000-foot perspective without having a detailed knowledge of their people or business. Although a high-level perspective is necessary for leadership success, it should be accompanied by an in-depth understanding of your employees and customers.

Before you can effectively adhere to your plans, you must understand the details and needs of your operation—your cost, profit and customer experience drivers. Leaders who make a habit of ignoring the little things find themselves ignoring the big things. Taking the time to really understand your business or your department from both perspectives help prevents blind spots for you and your team

Another way to balance your view is to look at both the past and the future. Every team has a variety of performance indicators. Leaders should understand the difference types of indicators, what they mean and, most importantly, how to balance them.

Consider a measurement continuum. The two ends of the continuum represent the two types of performance indicators. Lagging indicators are the results of your team’s past performance—they enable you to see if your plans worked as well as expected. Leading indicators are the drivers of your team’s future performance—they give you early warning signs of problems.

Many leaders only look at lagging indicators, typically financial ones. These lagging indicators are important to help you understand how you have performed in the past. However, they must be balanced with leading indicators such as employee and customer engagement that tell you how your team will perform in the future. 

A singular focus on lagging indicators gives you little opportunity for corrective action if you drift off course. Effective leaders look a both the leading and lagging indicators. 

This balanced view enables you to know what did happen and also indicate what will happen

As the captain of your ship, keep a balanced view of your team’s performance to increase your competence and adhere to your plans. Chart your course (High-level plan) and ensure the deck is clean (details). While on your journey, check the wake of your ship (lagging indicators) and keep an eye on the horizon ahead (leading indicators).

To your greater success and fulfillment,

Peter Mclees, Leadership Coach, Trainer and Performance Consultant

SMART DEVELOPMENT

Take the Next Step... 

Interested in learning how leadership coaching and training can benefit your organization? We begin with a collaborative discovery process identifying your unique needs and business issues. To request an interview with Peter Mclees please contact: 

Email: petercmclees@gmail.com  or  Mobile:323-854-1713

Smart Development has an exceptional track record helping service providers, ports, sales teams, restaurants, stores, distribution centers, food production facilities, nonprofits, government agencies and other businesses create a strong culture, leadership bench strength, coaching skills and the teamwork necessary for growth. 

Having worked with several companies throughout their growth cycle, we have valuable insights and strategies that would help any late stage startup, small or medium sized company achieve sustained growth and prosperity.

AMP UP Sales in 2019

Here are a few questions to ask yourself and your sales team as we begin 2019:

+ What did you learn so far 2018 that helped you acquire new accounts? Retain accounts? Penetrate accounts?
+ What did you do that wasn't so successful? 
+ What are you going to do better or differently in 2019 to acquire new accounts and retain/penetrate existing accounts? 
+ How much commissions are you going to make in 2019 and what are you committed to doing to achieve that? 

One of my favorite books to help us answer some of the questions above at this time of year is: "Your Best Year Yet" by Jenny Ditzler .

In this edition, we share a set of proven best practices that will help your sales team achieve its robust sales goals. 

Take these tips, share them with your sales force (during a sales meetings and/or 1:1s) and apply them in daily selling efforts--you'll find that even just using a few of these tips will help you and your people reach your goals and put more money in all of your pockets

The Single Most Critical Instruction in Closing

You are now going to receive the eight most important words in the art of closing. These are the most powerful words spoken on the complex, demanding, and well-paid art of closing. Here they are: 

Whenever you ask a closing question, zip it! 

Why is it so important to keep quiet? 

The first person who speaks after the closing question has been posed owns the product. If you speak first, you (or your company) still own the product. If the clients speak, they’re either going to say “yes” or “no.” 

If they say “yes,” whoopee! 
If they say “no,” they’ll likely say something you can grab hold of...another talking point that, once covered, allows you to try another closing attempt. 

So, keep quiet and don’t risk destroying the buying emotions you’ve worked so hard to build during your presentation. That is one area where average salespeople lose and winners win. 

The average salesperson can't wait more than ten seconds after asking a closing question to say something else. 

How NOT to Close a Sale

I recently heard a story about a salesperson trying to close a sale. He tried the old “IQ close.” He said, “This option makes the most sense; in fact, this is the option my smart customers chose.” So… I guess they are idiots if they don’t choose that option. No wonder salespeople get a bad rep. 

Some salespeople place too much pressure on the customer at this stage. Other salespeople spend too much time trying to find the magic pill for closing. Customers are turned off by gimmicky closing techniques. Customers are turned off by overbearing salespeople who treat the interaction as a win-loss scenario. If they close the sale, they win. If they don’t close the sale, they lose. 

Salespeople will also put too much pressure on themselves at this stage. They have a now-or-never approach to closing the sale. Even the term “closing the sale” sounds like a power-trip statement. In this scenario, the focus is on the salesperson, not the customer. 

Professional salespeople focus on understanding the customer’s business, needs, and problems

PLEASE COMMIT THIS TO MEMORY: The more time spent understanding the customer, the less effort it takes to move the sale forward. A clear understanding of the customer’s needs earns you the right to ask for their business.

Professional salespeople simplify the process. Closing the sale is not arm-twisting pressure. It’s about moving the sale forward. It’s not about finding a hundred different ways to close every sale, it’s about progressing this sale forward. 

In your next sales presentation try this simple two-question approach. 

Ask the customer for their thoughts. For example, 

“What do you think of my recommendations?” or “Am I on the right track?” 

If the customer gives you a buying signal, then ask for the business. For example, “How would you like to proceed today?” “How would you like to move forward today?” 

It’s not complex, it’s not about pressure, it’s not gimmicky, and it certainly isn’t about IQ; it’s about the customer’s needs. Once you understand the customer’s needs, progress the sale forward by asking them two questions. 

5 New Ways to Handle the Objection: “The Price is Too High”

The price is too high is an objection that is as old has humanity itself. If you think hard enough, I’m sure you can see the ancient Egyptians walking around an outdoor marketplace haggling with sellers using this very objection. And if you think even harder, you can probably envision weak sellers dropping their prices to make a sale. Things haven’t changed much in four thousand years, have they? 

The good news is that today there are a variety of proven ways to handle this age old objection. The most obvious way is to see it for it often is: a smokescreen hiding either a real objection or an attempt to haggle and have you to cave in and give a better price. In either of these situations the technique is to isolate the objection first and see what other stalls they come up with are before you negotiate price. You’ll see examples of these below. 

Below are five new ways to handle both types of price/budget objections. Pick the ones you’re most comfortable with, then make them your own and practice them until they become automatic. Given the frequency of this objection, you’ll be much more confident once you know how to handle it: 

“The price is too high – We don’t have the budget for it” 

Response One: 
“You’re right, and I know we’re not the cheapest out there – and it’s important that you heard that right – we’re not the “cheapest” service on the market. And there’s a very important reason for that: The quality that you get with us goes far beyond the few extra dollars you’ll invest today, and let me tell you the top three reasons why….” 

Response Two: 
“And that’s exactly why we offer our introductory program. Here’s the thing: we’re so convinced that you’ll come to appreciate the added services and value we offer that as soon as you begin using our service, you’ll forget all about the small initial cost. 

In fact, you’ll find that in the long run our (product or service) is not only affordable, but it saves you time AND makes you money. And that’s something you’re interested in doing, isn’t it?” 

Response Three: 
“_________, if you really think about this from a business perspective, you’ll soon see that this is actually something that you can’t afford NOT to do, and let me tell you why: If you don’t put this (product or service) to work for you, while you may save a bit of money today, you’ll be losing money tomorrow in terms of (lost revenues, extra work, lost sales and opportunities, etc.). As a operator, you just can’t afford to keep doing that. 

Response Four: 
“You know, a lot of business owners (V.P.’s, etc.) at first think this is an expense, but think again: if it helps to bring you more business, and/or helps you keep the clients and customers you already have, then it becomes an investment in your success, doesn’t it? And that’s how all successful companies grow – they invest in their business. 
And that’s what you have the opportunity to do right now. So let’s get you started…” 

Response Five: 
“I hear you _________, and let’s just say that I could wave a magic wand and get you the money (or reduce the price to where it would fit within your budget). Level with me: what other reasons would you have for not at least considering putting this to work for you today?”
[Now listen for the real objection and deal with it appropriately]

So now you have five new ways of handling the price objection. Make sure and listen for what the real objection is and then use the right script to overcome it.

The Number One Cause of Price Objections

Fairness is how you hope the other person will treat you. 

Last year, a survey of 500 people identified the causes of price resistance. Limited resources, fear, and lack of differentiation ranked toward the top, but they were not number one. The top driver of price resistance was a perceived lack of equity. They said things like, “I want a fair deal” or “I don’t want to feel I’ve been taken advantage of.” Buyers wanted to feel that they are getting at least as good as they are giving. Most defined value as a return greater than the investment. 

The equity theory of motivation proposes that humans compare outcomes to inputs. If the payoff is equal to or greater than the investment, the buyer perceives equity and is motivated to buy. Perception plays an important role in the appraisal of value. It is always the buyer’s perception that counts. Perceived inequity results in no purchase. 

As a salesperson, you can demonstrate the equity of your solution by demonstrating the short and long-term gains of your solution. Discuss the full value of your end-to-end customer experience. They must enjoy a return on their investment over time. Price is a one-time thing. Customers must perceive your value as an annuity. This way, they experience a return on the investment long after they pay the price to acquire it. 

The Root Cause of Many Lost Sales Opportunities

I was visiting an old friend not long ago and he reminded me of the great ping pong tournaments we used to have when we were in college. He also told me he had just purchased a ping pong table and it was “waiting” for us in his game room. My buddy quickly grabbed one paddle; I picked up the other. It's been decades since we last faced off against each other. We were never very good, but we were always competitive. 

After a brief warm-up period, I felt the old rivalry re-emerging. 

My friend had moved too far to the right side of the table. With a nice hit to the left corner, I could score an easy point. Maybe even a bragging point. 
  
Eagerly, I whacked the ball into just the right spot -- or so I thought. Instead, it sailed six feet beyond the table into a potted plant. (Too much adrenaline!) 

Moments later, another opportunity presented itself. My pal was playing too close to the table, making it difficult for him to hit a long ball placed directly in front of him. 

I swung hard and fast. It hit him in the chest. Another big miss for me. 

The Problem 
After a few more lost points, the root cause of the problem became glaringly obvious. My eagerness to score big was causing me to make rookie mistakes. 
  
To win, I needed to control my emotions -- which, as you might imagine, is easier said than done. 
We have to do that in sales too. Good sales opportunities get my adrenaline flowing. We can see how we can help. We know we can make a difference. We want to pounce on our prospect. 
  
It doesn't work. Instead, it creates serious, sales-ending obstacles. Prospects don't want to play with you anymore. They think you're only out for yourself. It's probably not true, although I have to admit that early in my career it was. 

The Solution 
If you really want to win at the game of sales, it's crucial to control your emotions. Sometimes the first step is hardest -- recognizing your own actions are causing the problems. 
  
Then you have to figure out new ways to respond and even learn new skills. It's hard work, but it's worth it. 

As for my ping pong game, I realized that mastering the skills I needed to beat my friend would take longer than my weekend visit. I decided to focus on having fun instead -- and keeping the ball in play. 

Sell Value Not Price

Selling value is the number-one obstacle that salespeople face. It is challenging but not impossible. Big box superstores, category killers, and discounters of every stripe are attempting to re-define the concept of value by using the word value as a euphemism for cheap. A solution that fails to perform for a customer is lousy value, regardless of the price. To sell value, let’s begin with an understanding of value—what it is not and what it is. 

Value is not bloated, feature-rich products. Value is not layers of services that a company offers. Value is not a cheap price. Price is a product feature—like size, color, packaging options, etc. Why allow yourself to have a sale derailed over a product feature when the real issue is value? This reminds us of the famous Mark Twain quote, “Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.” Salespeople that allow themselves to be sucked into a price debate think no differently from the person who raises the price issue. 

Value is an outcome, the result of your solution. Value is return on investment, yield, or the impact of your solution on the customer’s world. Price affects this outcome no more or less than any other product feature. Salespeople lose the value argument when they get lost in the weeds of price justification. Like price-shoppers, they lose sight of the real purpose of a solution—to create something of value for the customer. 

The value of something is determined by what customers sacrifice measured against the outcome of the solution. Sacrifice includes price and ownership costs. Outcome includes what the solution does and how it affects the customer. If the outcome of the decision is greater than the sacrifice, it is great value. If the sacrifice is greater than the outcome, it is lousy value. Price is a piece of the sacrifice, not the whole of it. At the heart of buying decisions, customers want great value, not just cheap prices. Salespeople, who find themselves arguing over price versus selling their value, must heed the advice in Proverbs: “Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself.” 


IF YOU'D RATHER GET A ROOT CANAL THAN MAKE A COLD CALL READ THIS...

“I’ve been absolutely terrified every moment of my life – and I’ve never let it keep me from doing a single thing I wanted to do.” Georgia O’Keeffe, 20th-century American Artist and Painter 

You may not feel what Georgia O’Keeffe is describing here, but if you are like many salespeople, you probably experience varying degrees of cold call reluctance. 

Cold call reluctance is the fear, unwillingness, or hesitancy salespeople experience when they think about reaching out to customers whether they are cold calls or repeat calls. This can range from mild to severe. It includes prospecting by phone, in-person canvassing, networking, or asking for referrals. 

Call reluctance is either a problem of will or skill. If it is a problem of will, it includes the fear of rejection, the belief that cold calling takes too much effort, or the attitude that it is not a viable way to build your business. If it is a problem of skill, it means that you have never been taught an effective way of cold calling. Simply, you lack the necessary skills to make this a viable business-building strategy. 

If it is a problem of will, consider the possibility that you can build your business by reaching out to prospects. Rejection is highly overrated. How can anyone reject you personally when they really don’t know you? All they are rejecting is your messaging. Do some serious soul-searching, and ask yourself why you do not like reaching out to prospects. 

If it is a problem of skill, you can reread and PRACTICE the SMART training module entitled, 

"Turning Cold Calling in to Gold Calling. "

Reaching out to prospects is still a viable way to build your business. A study of calling habits found that 80% of salespeople still cold call as a way to fill their pipelines. A successful cold-calling campaign requires planning, practice, and persistence. 

The Power of Surprise in Customer Service

“FIRST TIME I’VE EVER LOST A GAME THAT WAY. FIRST TIME I’VE EVER SEEN A GAME LOST THAT WAY.” -NICK SABAN 

Saban is referring to his surprise loss to Auburn in the 2013 Iron Bowl. With one second left, Alabama attempted a 50+ yard field goal. The ball soared through the air, on target, but it didn’t have the distance. The ball fell eight yards short into the arms of Chris Davis, an Auburn receiver. Davis ran it back for a touchdown to win the game. The Auburn nation was in a euphoric state while Alabama was devastated. Although the game was just another win and loss, there was one element that made this game larger-than-life, surprise. Surprise can have the same effect in customer service. 

Surprise has the ability to make every service experience that much better, or make everything worse. In fact, a recent Harvard Business Review article mentions that surprise can amplify whatever emotion you are experiencing. The article also argues that surprise is one of our most powerful marketing tools. Surprise can make or break your customer experience. 

However, surprise is becoming more and more difficult. Companies benchmark themselves against their competitors. Companies are too quick to say “me too” instead of “Surprise! We’re different.” Companies are changing to become the same, rather than changing to surprise their customers. 

Given, the ubiquitous nature of products and services, it shouldn’t surprise you that only 7% of customers are delighted. In a recent customer service survey sponsored by American Express, customer experiences are average or below average 93% of the time. 

To surprise customers, we must look for opportunities. Customers will give us hints, but we need to recognize these hints as opportunities. If the customer shows the slightest hint of dissatisfaction, it is an opportunity. The slightest hint of satisfaction is also an opportunity to heighten the experience. 

To surprise customers, we must also find a way to say yes. When a customer needs our help, we say yes. When a customer needs more information, we say yes. When a customer asks “can you do this,” we say yes. There are several ways we can say yes. For example, if you don’t know the answer, find out who does. If the customer problem is unique, research a solution. If they need to vent, then listen. I recently met a business owner who understands the importance of saying “yes” to customers. Surprisingly, the name of his company is Yes Cleaners. 

The next time you are presented with an opportunity to surprise a customer, say yes. They will remember the experience. Think of the last time you received surprise service. 

If you'd like to become a better sales coach (or help your managers to be effective coaches) call me at 323-854-1713 or email me at petercmclees@gmail.com

To your greater success,

Peter C. Mclees, Principal
Smart Development

We help sales reps and sales organizations accelerate their sales. 

Handling Complainers and Blamers

Complainers and blamers are combined because they are such close cousins. The most important thing the characters have in common is that each points for problems away from himself. Often they work as a sort of tag team. The complainer points out something negative and the blamer jumps in and points a finger at somebody—internal or external.

What’s the difference between the complaining and troubleshooting? Complainers often complain that they get a bad rap: “After all, isn’t it important to point out problems? Are we supposed to pretend that everything is OK even when it’s not?” Here’s the key difference: Complainers typically make noise about the symptoms of a problem (the pain), whereas troubleshooter go looking for the root causes

Blamers may resort, in defense of their blaming, “Looking for the root cause is exactly what I’m doing. And the root cause has to be something, or someone.

When I point out the root cause, I am tarred as a ‘blamer.’” So what’s the difference: The blamer is focused on who else did something wrong, the troubleshooter is focused on what steps she can take herself to make things better.

Things go wrong in every workplace. No matter how great your work, your colleagues, or your organization, problems are an everyday reality. Mostly these problems are probably not caused by the complainers and the blamers. And it is plenty likely that neither the complainer nor the blamer will be in a position to correct many of the problems which might well have an impact on them.

That’s one of the prime frustrations for most people in the workplace: It’s easy to identify problems, but not so easy to solve them.

The regular one-on-ones are a natural venue in which everybody can raise points of pain on regular basis and work with you to either move toward a solution or create a coping mechanism. Ask the complainers and the blamers both to keep a running list of pain points. You can always defer complaining and blaming to the running list and make time in your one-on-ones for discussion. When they start to complain or blame in any other conversation or meeting, just remind them: “Add that to the list and let’s make time to discuss this in our next one-on-one.”

It's a good idea to ask the complainer/blamer to lay her case in writing:

·        Here’s the point of pain.
·        Here’s why it’s bad for the business.
·        This is the root cause.
·        These are the options for a solution.
·        This is the solution I propose.
·        This is why this solution is best for the business.
·        Here’s what it would cost—money, time, people, and other resources.
·        This is where we could get the resources.
·        This is what the plan would look like.
·        Here’s the role I propose for myself in executing that plan.

This is a great way to get a complainer or blamer to consider: Is this a serious point of pain?

The most common problems you tend to hear about from complainers and blamers are not emergencies, or anything special, for that matter. They are usually small mistakes, omissions, and inconveniences that occur in the regular course of business. No problem is so small that it should be left alone; small problems too often fester and grow into bigger problems.

So jump on the complainers’ and blamers’ unfailing eye for even the smallest points of pain and constantly reiterate the expectation: “Whenever you diagnose a problem, no matter how small, go into troubleshooting mode. Take responsibility. Focus on finding the root cause and focus on what you can do to attempt to fix it.”

You do want to hear about it when things do wrong, but always in a professional, productive manner. Talking about small problems—whatever they may be---should be something you do as a matter of course in your regular one-on-ones anyway. Addressing one small problem after another is what ongoing continuous performance improvement is all about.

Teach the complainers and blamers to be troubleshooters—a great metamorphosis for everybody involved. It’s always a good thing to have more troubleshooters on the team.

To your greater success and fulfillment,

Peter Mclees, Leadership Coach, Trainer and Performance Consultant

SMART DEVELOPMENT

Take the Next Step... 

Interested in learning how Smart Development can help your managers become more coach-like? We begin with a collaborative discovery process identifying your unique needs and business issues. To request an interview with Peter Mclees please contact: 

Email: petercmclees@gmail.com  or  Mobile:323-854-1713

Smart Development has an exceptional track record helping service providers, ports, sales teams, restaurants, stores, distribution centers, food production facilities, nonprofits, government agencies and other organizations create a strong culture, leadership bench strength, coaching skills and the teamwork necessary for growth. 

Having worked with several companies throughout their growth cycle, we have valuable insights and strategies that would help any late stage startup, small or medium sized company achieve sustained growth and prosperity.

How Leaders Who Ask More Leverage the Power of the Brain

The leader who asks more and tells less utilizes what we know about the brain from the studies in neuroscience.

I often hear complaints from leaders along a similar theme: “I have been over this with him in the past and each time he agrees. Yet each time nothing changes.” Leaders are frustrated that their good advice is being overlooked and their instructions ignored by members of their team.

So what going on here? (The clue is in the brain!)

1.     They are hearing you, they just don’t care

To pay attention (And to change behavior), the brain needs the right amount of dopamine. Dopamine levels are increased when a person sees relevance in the messages (Source: Davachi, D.L., Keifer D.T, 2010. Learning that lasts through the ages. Neuroleadership Journal). If they don’t have any ownership over the messages they are receiving, even when they ‘hear’ you, just don’t care.

2.     There is nothing new, you have said it all before

The brain learns best when there is novelty or variety. Are you ‘telling’ them the same thing in the same way, over and over? I saw a funny cartoon recently. A parent was explaining to a child, in detail, what behavior was expected on a visit to Grandma’s house. The kid was hearing ‘blah blah blah’. What are your people hearing?

3.     Their emotional brain is not engaged

When you give instructions, they may be listening with their ‘rational brain’, but this won’t necessarily help with recall. Engage their ‘emotional brain’ to increase the chance they will remember and apply what you have said. Emotions focus attention on the stimulus, and through engaging the amygdala, emotions signal to the brain that an event is significant. This leads to enhanced recall.

Think about your own learning? Under what conditions are you more likely to listen, generate ideas, and take ownership?

So what does this mean? Simply that people are much more likely to remember things—and apply them to other situations—that they have worked out for themselves, than things their boss has told them. The leader who asks more utilizes that understanding.

How does the leader who asks more and tells less support insight?

The fundamental distinction between a coaching approach and many other forms of skill development in the use of asking and not telling.

Many problems can be solved by taking an analytical approach and systematically working through the problem and possible solutions. The types of problems that are best solved with a coaching approach often in a different way: a new way of thinking about the problem and the solution. The questioning associated with a coaching leadership style helps find a fresh approach that generates a new understanding, and that’s where insight comes in.

When people solve a challenge for themselves—rather that being ‘told’—‘insight’ is involved. Insight is the sudden understanding—a ‘Eureka’ moment—when the brain takes seemingly unrelated ideas and puts them together in new ways to reach an understanding.

Insights engage the brain’s reward systems and trigger a release of dopamine: a neurotransmitter associated with the brains rewards system known as a “happy chemical." The simple act searching for our own answers is rewarding to the brain.

Insight activates the hippocampus, the area of the brain responsible for long-term memories.  Insights are memorable because there is an emotional component; the amygdala—the part of the brain responsible for emotional arousal—is engaged.

Memory is also augmented with insight because we make rich neural connections to things we already know.

Problems solved via insight support application of the solution more broadly. The ability to generalize occurs when we are able to recognize new patterns in the problems we encounter and strategies we use to solve them, and to recognize this in subsequent situations. So, one insight can address multiple challenges across different time and context.

Let’s not underestimate a coaching approach

It’s easy to underestimate the power of a coaching approach and think that coaching skills are for 1: 1 formal conversations only. This would be a mistake.

Coaching skills make formal 1:1 conversations flow, and the leader who asks more and tells less is much more likely to get an outcome to which both parties are committed. That’s only one of the many ways in which coaching skills can be applied. Coaching skills allow a leader to make an instant connection in a quick hallway conversation, and get outcomes that in the past might have taken multiple conversations, over many weeks.

Culture changes need leaders who ask more and tell less throughout the organization

Typically, culture change starts at the top, and the ongoing support and modelling of the desired culture by the senior leadership group is critical. It’s also critical that leaders throughout the organization understand the vision, the values, and the expected behaviors, and can coach that throughout the organization.

Culture is the sum of every little thing we do each day. Leaders who ask more and tell less create culture and change momentum through informal interactions as well as formal conversations.

Leadership is tricky. It's challenging and rewarding, and at times its fun (Interestingly, the more skills we have to draw on the more fun leadership becomes!) Building a vibrant culture is tricky too, and it rises and falls on leadership and leadership rises and fall on communication. Becoming a coach-like leader who asks more and tells less helps you to be brave enough to connect deeply, lead fearlessly and achieve results that transform.

To your greater success and fulfillment,

Peter Mclees, Leadership Coach, Trainer and Performance Consultant

SMART DEVELOPMENT

Take the Next Step... 

Interested in learning how Smart Development can help your managers become more coach-like? We begin with a collaborative discovery process identifying your unique needs and business issues. To request an interview with Peter Mclees please contact: 

Email: petercmclees@gmail.com  or  Mobile:323-854-1713

Smart Development has an exceptional track record helping service providers, ports, sales teams, restaurants, stores, distribution centers, food production facilities, nonprofits, government agencies and other organizations create a strong culture, leadership bench strength, coaching skills and the teamwork necessary for growth. 

Having worked with several companies throughout their growth cycle, we have valuable insights and strategies that would help any late stage startup, small or medium sized company achieve sustained growth and prosperity.

Helping Managers Reap the Benefits of Becoming More Coach-Like

REMOVING BARRIERS FOR MANAGERS

When it comes to coaching, two main beneficiaries are usually pointed to. The first is the person being coached. With any luck, they’re going to get more attention, more support to perform, more encouragement to develop. Their levels of engagement and performance will increase. They’ll be delighted. The other beneficiary is the organization. 

When decided that performance management and coaching are important enough to invest in, and leaders are expecting to see an increase in engagement, productivity and impact.

But the manager who has to do the work? There’s seemingly no advantage for him or her. It’s just the latest task to be tacked on to their already overwhelming list of obligations, meetings, responsibilities and KPIs.

To make coaching work in your organization, you need to tackle the five main objections managers have to “coaching”:

• “Coaching takes too much time.”
• “I don’t have time.”
• “I don’t want to be a coach.”
• “What is coaching”
• “But WIIFM?”

“Coaching takes too much time?”
Recent research shows that the number one barrier to managers coaching is the belief that it “takes too much time,” a consistent finding for more than a decade. And it’s number one with a bullet: this belief is almost twice as prevalent (29%) as the barrier “I don’t have all the answers” (17%).2

Managers’ perception of coaching is contaminated by the belief that manager coaching and executive coaching are the same. Executive coaches meet every week for an hour-long chat with leaders and high potentials. That’s not a luxury any manager can afford with their team members.

The good news is that, as with most things, the law of diminishing returns applies. For example,  research on coaching for the Scholastic Aptitude Test shows that an arithmetical  increase in performance  requires geometrical  increases in time.3 In plain English, that means you get the most benefit from a little bit of coaching, whereas spending further time on coaching adds some value but not much.

In fact, focused, useful coaching conversations can take place easily within a much shorter time frame; in fact, any manager can coach in 1, 5, 10, or 20 or 30 minutes. Better yet, coaching can occur even when the manager isn't present. But even if you convince managers that coaching can be a quick, everyday activity, they’ll have another objection...

“Even if I can coach in 1, 10 or 20 minutes, the manager says, “when exactly do I add this to my current responsibilities? The only unspoken-for time in my agenda is between a 2 a.m. and 5 a.m.”

“I don’t have time.”
Again, a fair point. Reframe coaching not as an additional task (or burden) that the manager needs to add to their current workload, but as a way of transforming what they currently do, so that they do it differently and more effectively. This isn’t about trying to pour more water into an already full glass. It’s about changing the water into … well, pick your alternative liquid.

In other words, rather than separating out the ongoing and everyday activity of managing people, and then tacking on a separate coaching session every now and then, managers see that the whole process of managing someone can be done through the lens of being more coach-like: staying curious a little longer, rushing to action and advice-giving a little more slowly.

But even if you show them how coaching can be about transforming what they’re currently doing, rather than adding to it, they may have another point of resistance still… 
 
“I don’t want to be a coach.”
"I’ve met coaches, and I’m not like them. Coaches are all touchy-feely. I’m normal. I’m just trying to do my job, hit my numbers, support my team, go home and see my family.”

If you’re reading this post, it’s a fair bet that you’re already on board with the idea of coaching. You may have already done some coach training of your own. So this insight can make you a little twitchy. But we can’t project our love of coaching onto others.

Instead, we’ve found power in reframing the conversation so it’s not about being a coach but about being a manager who’s more coach-like. Simplify the idea of coaching to make it an everyday behavior. This is a breakthrough for a lot of people because they don’t want to be turned into something they don’t want to be. When managers understand that coaching is simpler and “less weird” than they had thought, another point of resistance is removed.

“What IS coaching?”
But even if managers are mollified by being told that they don’t have to be a coach, that they can just be a manager who is more coach-like, they’ll likely have another concern.
They ask, “What is coaching? I don’t know even what that means.” 

Coaching has this kind of weird, arcane, dark, mysterious quality of going into a dark cave, being blessed and coming out as a coach. There’s a degree of anxiety finding what coaching means. It’s a term that gets used a lot but there’s no one definition that everyone uses.

For us the definition is quite simple. Can you stay curious a little longer, can you rush to advice giving and action a little more slowly?

In some organizational cultures it can be difficult to build the coaching habit because the managers are rewarded for having all the answers.

There’s a whole industrial complex around having the answer is the best thing to be. We learn that in school. We learn it in high school. We learn it in university. Be the person with the answer that’s what gives you the “A.” Then when you start your career you’re typically starting a technical role and like know the answer because that’s your job. Lots of organizations are based on the concept that knowledge is precious and having the answer is how you add value.

However, increasingly that’s not the case. First of all, knowledge is freer and less precious than it used to be because you can look up anything you want on Google. Secondly, the world is more complex than it been so there’s a better chance that your answer isn’t as good as you think it is. And thirdly, you find as you become a more senior leader it stops scaling. You can’t have the answer to everybody on your team. And of course having the answer for everybody on your team means you’re building a more disempowered team that working below its potential.

There are still a lot of organizations that say to their managers that their job is to have all the answers and tell people what to do. And honestly, that feels pretty good to lots of people. Because you when have the answers and you’re giving advise that feels great because you’re the smart person in the room and you feel in control of the conversation. It makes your brain feel good.

On the other hand, when you ask a question, which is the essence of coaching, your brain feels less good. For the manager, it feels a little more ambiguous about what’s going on. The manager thinks, “I’m not sure if that was a good question. I not sure what they’re going to answer. I’ve given up control of this conversation and handed it to the other person.” It’s a messier, trickier, harder piece of leadership to do. But in some ways this is servant leadership. You’re willing to make yourself feel as little less comfortable and empower the other person which means giving up power for yourself for the sake of the bigger game that you’re looking to play.

“Let’s say it’s true that I can coach quickly and coach in a way that isn’t an additional burden to my workload, and I don’t even have to call it coaching, just a smarter way to lead. Even if that’s all true, what do I get out of it?”

“But WIIFM?” (What’s in it for me)
For people to change their behavior, there has to be a benefit in doing so. And coaching’s benefit is obvious enough to the coachee and the organization, but rarely to the person doing the coaching. Framing it as a benefit rather than as a burden is essential.

We talk about this change being the secret to working less hard and having more impact. That’s certainly enough to get people’s attention. And when they understand that one of the principles of effective coaching for managers is to tell and do less, they’ll lean in to learn more. It’s provocative and it feels counter-intuitive, but at the heart it’s understanding the difference between being “helpful” and actually helping.

Check out two related posts:

A Coaching Habit Helps You Work Less Hard with Greater Impact

The Single Biggest Mistake a Leader Can Make

To your greater success and fulfillment,

Peter Mclees, Leadership Coach, Trainer and Performance Consultant

SMART DEVELOPMENT

Take the Next Step... 

Interested in learning how Smart Development can help your managers become more coach-like? We begin with a collaborative discovery process identifying your unique needs and business issues. To request an interview with Peter Mclees please contact: 

Email: petercmclees@gmail.com  or  Mobile:323-854-1713

Smart Development has an exceptional track record helping service providers, ports, sales teams, restaurants, stores, distribution centers, food production facilities, nonprofits, government agencies and other organizations create a strong culture, leadership bench strength, coaching skills and the teamwork necessary for growth. 

Having worked with several companies throughout their growth cycle, we have valuable insights and strategies that would help any late stage startup, small or medium sized company achieve sustained growth and prosperity.

10 Things that Prevent Organizations Getting From Good to Great

In her latest book, Dare to Lead, best selling author and researcher, Brene Brown, explains that leadership is not about titles, status and power over people. Leaders are people who hold themselves accountable for recognizing the potential in people and ideas, and developing that potential. I highly recommend this book for any manager who is ready to choose courage over comfort, make a difference and lead.

I concur with Dr. Brown's assertion that when we dare to lead, we don't pretend to have the right answers; we stay curious and ask the right questions. We don't see power as finite and hoard it; we know that power becomes infinite when we share it and work to align authority and accountability. We don't avoid difficult conversations and situations; we lean into the vulnerability that’s necessary to do good work.

In the book, Brown cites extensive research which has uncovered 10 behaviors and cultural issues that get in the way of organizations across the globe:

1.   We avoid tough conversations, including giving honest, productive feedback.

2.     Rather than spending a reasonable amount of time proactively   acknowledging and addressing the fears and feelings that show up during   change and upheaval, we spend an unreasonable amount of time   managing problematic behaviors.

3.     Diminishing trust caused by a lack of connection and empathy.

4.     Not enough people are taking smart risks or creating and sharing bold   ideas to meet changing demands and the insatiable need for innovation.

5.     We get stuck and defined by setbacks, disappointments, and failures,   instead of spending resources on clean-up to ensure that customers,   stakeholders, or internal processes are made whole, we are spending too   much time and energy reassuring team members who are questioning   their contribution and value.

6.     Too much shame and blame, not enough accountability and learning.

7.     People are opting out of vital conversations about diversity and   inclusivity, because they fear looking wrong, saying something wrong, or   being wrong. Choosing our own comfort over hard conversations is the   epitome of privilege, and it corrodes trust and moves us away from   meaningful and lasting change.

8.     When something goes wrong, individuals and teams are rushing into     ineffective or unsustainable solutions rather than staying with problem   identification and solving. When we fix the wrong thing for the wrong   reason, the same problems continue to surface. It’s costly and   demoralizing.

9.     Organizational values are gauzy and assessed in terms of aspirations   rather than actual behaviors that can be taught, measured, and   evaluated.

10. Perfectionism and fear are keeping people from learning and growing.

Leaders whom I've shared the list with have told me that they recognize these behaviors and cultural issues both within their organizations and themselves. The reason these problems are so prevalent is underlying them are deeply human issues. And as Tom Peters remarked, "All organizations are essentially human."

The good news is there are tools available to help leaders address these challenges.

To your greater success and fulfillment,

Peter Mclees, Leadership Coach, Trainer and Performance Consultant

SMART DEVELOPMENT

Take the Next Step... 

Interested in learning how Smart Development can help your company address these issues? We begin with a collaborative discovery process identifying your unique needs and business issues. To request an interview with Peter Mclees please contact: 

Email: petercmclees@gmail.com  or  Mobile:323-854-1713

Smart Development has an exceptional track record helping service providers, ports, sales teams, restaurants, stores, distribution centers, food production facilities, nonprofits, government agencies and other organizations create a strong culture, leadership bench strength, coaching skills and the teamwork necessary for growth. 

Having worked with several companies throughout their growth cycle, we have valuable insights and strategies that would help any late stage startup, small or medium sized company achieve sustained growth and prosperity.